ALBANY - New York's Democratic voters dealt a resounding victory and a stunning rebuke to the party's establishment all in the same night.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his entire ticket glided to victories Thursday in the Democratic primary.

Cuomo easily warded off a challenge from actor Cynthia Nixon, who attempted to capture the insurgent progressive vote that helped Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez score a congressional primary upset in Queens in June.

But that same insurgent vote propelled seven Democratic challengers to wins in state Senate primaries Thursday, including six who challenged former members of the Senate Independent Democratic Conference.

In the end, there was a clear dichotomy: Voters backed the establishment candidates at the statewide level while opting for the challengers at the local level.

Local vs. statewide

At a news conference Friday in Manhattan, Cuomo said his margin of victory — he beat Nixon by about 31 percentage points — shows voters saw through the narrative pushed by the Nixon campaign that he doesn't appeal to younger, progressive voters.

"It was all across the state, it was all age groups, it was all demographics," Cuomo said of his victory.

"So I think it was a very loud and clear and powerful statement. I think it caught people by surprise."

It was a different story for incumbents in the state Senate.

A group of progressive-minded challengers bonded together to take on the former members of the Senate IDC, a group of breakaway Democrats who once partnered with Republicans to control the chamber and keep their other Democratic colleagues out of power.

The IDC disbanded in April under a peace deal with fellow Democrats brokered by Cuomo.

Supporters of Nixon's ticket — which also included lieutenant governor candidate Jumaane Williams and attorney general hopeful Zephyr Teachout — were hopeful that the same wave that led Ocasio-Cortez to a surprise victory over longtime Democrat Rep. Joseph Crowley in June would provide a similar boost Thursday.

It didn't happen.

Along with Cuomo's 65 percent to 34 percent victory, the governor's preferred picks — Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul and attorney general candidate Letitia James — also won their respective races.

All three were overwhelmingly backed by the state Democratic Committee earlier this year.

On Friday, Cuomo said there was a "misinterpretation" of what happened in the congressional primaries, which he said were a "fluke" because they were the only races happening that day, which depressed turnout.

Letitia James delivers a victory speech after winning the primary election for attorney general Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, in New York. James would become the first black woman to hold statewide elected office in New York if she prevails in the general election.(Photo: Kevin Hagen, AP)

Turnout helped

Thursday's state and local primaries drew a historic turnout, with 1.5 million Democrats casting a ballot, more than twice as many as in 2014.

Cuomo pointed to the results in Ocascio-Cortez's district on Friday — he defeated Nixon there by 36 percentage points -- as proof that voters find him to be progressive, ticking off accomplishments such as the 2011 passage of same-sex marriage and tougher gun-control laws in 2013.

“How do you explain me winning that district by 36 percent?” Cuomo asked.

“I’m not a socialist. I’m not 25 years old. I know I may look it. I’m not a newcomer.”

For her part, Nixon took pride in the down-ballot results Thursday night.

She and several of the IDC challengers cross-endorsed one another, just as she and Ocasio-Cortez did in June.

"As I said on the very first day of this campaign, if we want things to finally change in New York state, we don't just need to elect more Democrats, we need to elect better Democrats -- to every office, in every district, upstate and downstate, up and down the ballo," Nixon said during her concession speech Thursday.